Matching Items (27)
Description
The speech of non-native (L2) speakers of a language contains phonological rules that differentiate them from native speakers. These phonological rules characterize or distinguish accents in an L2. The Shibboleth program creates combinatorial rule-sets to describe the phonological pattern of these accents and classifies L2 speakers into their native language. The training and classification is done in Shibboleth by support vector machines using a Gaussian radial basis kernel. In one experiment run using Shibboleth, the program correctly identified the native language (L1) of a speaker of unknown origin 42% of the time when there were six possible L1s in which to classify the speaker. This rate is significantly better than the 17% chance classification rate. Chi-squared test (1, N=24) =10.800, p=.0010 In a second experiment, Shibboleth was not able to determine the native language family of a speaker of unknown origin at a rate better than chance (33-44%) when the L1 was not in the transcripts used for training the language family rule-set. Chi-squared test (1, N=18) =1.000, p=.3173 The 318 participants for both experiments were from the Speech Accent Archive (Weinberger, 2013), and ranged in age from 17 to 80 years old. Forty percent of the speakers were female and 60% were male. The factor that most influenced correct classification was higher age of onset for the L2. A higher number of years spent living in an English-speaking country did not have the expected positive effect on classification.
ContributorsFrost, Wende (Author) / Gelderen, Elly van (Thesis advisor) / Perzanowski, Dennis (Committee member) / Gee, Elisabeth (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
School leaders often view teacher resistance to change as willful defiance, but there is much more to understand if change agents are willing to peel back the layers of the resistance and dig deeper into the reasons why teachers may struggle to accept new innovations. This action research project is grounded in the notion that an intentional focus on discourse about change through social interaction with teachers who have varying perspectives will increase the probability of enduring transformation in teaching and encourage teachers to continue sharing best practices beyond the silos of their classrooms. Teachers adopting a new literacy curriculum at Harpeth Academy, a private independent school in South City, TN, worked together to discuss reactions to and experiences with new curriculum in a Professional Learning Community (PLC) consisting of three 60- minute jigsaw collaborative learning activities led by the researcher. The objective was to understand how Jigsaw PLCs may affect teachers’ resistance to change and their perceptions of and attitudes toward the new curriculum. The intervention is framed through a social constructivist lens using social capital as a guiding theory. Data was collected through pre and post-interviews, meeting transcripts, and teacher journals. The findings of this study suggest that the social capital created in the Jigsaw PLC affected teachers’ resistance to change and had a positive effect on their attitudes toward and belief in the new curriculum. The time spent in these collaborative learning communities with diverse colleagues addressed concerns about relationships and autonomy, created a sense of shared vulnerability and fate, and allowed teachers to inquire about the merits and benefits of the change.
ContributorsCaponi, Heather (Author) / Baker, Ellen (Thesis advisor) / Gee, Elisabeth (Committee member) / Reynolds, Ellen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
This mixed-methods action research study delves into the decision-making processes of students, with a specific focus on Arizona State University Housing as a case study. It also explores the potential role that Arizona State University Housing professionals can play in facilitating the flow of essential information to aid in these decision-making processes. Furthermore, it investigates how decisions are formulated in the realm of higher education settings as an integral part of this complex process. In this research study, a new web-based interactive game was created to furnish students with information pertaining to their college housing options. The study then gathered data from student interactions with this game to gain deeper insights into their decision-making behaviors. The findings of this study revealed that although students possessed a fundamental understanding of the implications associated with their university housing choices, various external factors and influences played a significant role in how they applied this knowledge to their individual housing decisions. Surprisingly, students exhibited unforeseen behaviors during surveys and interviews, shedding light on the intricacies of their decision-making processes. As an action research project, this study also provided the opportunity to explore how professionals make decisions in the design of the innovation. By documenting the design process, this research provides valuable insights into the tendency of university staff to adopt isomorphic patterns and their reliance on both student decision-making and research on student development as essential components of their decision-making framework. Based on the findings, recommendations for universities are as follows: (a) prioritize personalized and in-person communication with students to better understand their unique needs and preferences; (b) take into consideration the impact of external factors, such as the COVID-19 global pandemic, on students’ college-going behavior, and housing decisions; (c) intentionally integrate theoretical perspectives to inform and guide staff decisions, ensuring a more holistic and informed approach; and (d) counteract the tendency toward isomorphic decision making by fostering an environment that encourages competitive nonconformity, enabling innovative solutions to emerge.
ContributorsDAngelo, Carmen (Author) / Gee, Elisabeth (Thesis advisor) / Graves Wolf, Leigh (Committee member) / Radatz, Alecia (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
This action research study investigates the outcomes and barriers to persistence for adult learners in a medical assisting program at a private Catholic college in central Iowa. The research compares the impact of a work-based learning track and a traditional learning track to understand how the differences in the learning track support adult learners' andragogical preferences, reduce barriers, and helps students graduate, persist, and pass their licensure exam.A review of the existing scholarly, theoretical, and empirical research suggests several optimal ways to deliver adult education and many alternative learning models designed to support adult learners’ unique needs and life experiences. Andragogical principles help explain the differences between adult learners versus children and their preferences and priorities that shape their orientation toward learning. These principles, combined with the experiential learning theory, offer theoretical support for developing alternative learning paths such as work-based learning.
Utilizing a mixed-method action research design, 51 current students, graduates, and stop-outs provided feedback through a survey, and four individuals from the same respondent group engaged in a virtual interview. Students in the work-based learning track reported feeling better prepared for their licensure exam, had a more positive overall experience, and found the program less challenging compared to their counterparts in the traditional pathway. Additionally, institutional data was evaluated and adults in the work-based learning track had higher rates of persistence, graduation, and licensure pass rates.
The study illuminates that combining education with on-the-job training in the form of work-based learning has significant benefits for adult learners when compared to a traditional learning track that dominates much of modern academia. The research findings highlight the importance of embracing andragogical principles when designing adult education specifically, their intrinsic motivation and orientation to learning. This is a strength of a work-based learning model as students can reinforce classroom learning with hands-on training, facilitating the cycle of learning through concrete experiences and active experimentation. The medical assisting work-based learning track also alleviates common challenges to student persistence, such as tuition costs, by involving employers in financing students' education in exchange for a work commitment post-graduation.
ContributorsRomkey, Matt (Author) / Gee, Elisabeth (Thesis advisor) / Wilson, Wesley (Committee member) / Meyer, John (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
Black LGBTQ people living in Des Moines, Iowa face challenges living at the intersection of Blackness and LGBTQ status. Critical race theory helps situate the context for understanding the lived experiences of Black LGBTQ individuals within broader systems, exposing the impact of societal expectations on identity formation and resources available to community members. Four interviewees shared their ideals and areas of opportunity that exist to strengthen resources available to Black LGBTQ people living in Iowa. This research study used an action research methodology paired with counternarrative analysis to guide the interview process. Thematic analysis was used to identify themes within and across participant interviews. Each of the interviews was edited into a podcast episode for the researcher’s ‘Porch Tea w/Destinee’ podcast. The overarching themes that emerged from the podcast were that (1) navigating Blackness within Iowa communities is a challenge and (2) community learning is essential to understanding identities and lived experiences.
ContributorsWoodris, Destinee (Author) / Gee, Elisabeth (Thesis advisor) / Zinnel, Daniel (Committee member) / Wolf, Leigh (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
Certification in the public health workforce is key to professionalizing public health. However, professionals who are certified in public health (CPH) are allowing certification to lapse by failing to report earned public health continuing education (PHCE) credits. As a result, the National Board of Public Health Examiners (NBPHE) is not able to track continuing education of the public health workforce or to ensure that their public health knowledge remains current and within standards of best practice. To address this problem and increase rates of maintenance of certification, a sequential quantitative, qualitative action research study was designed using the theory of planned behavior as the theoretical framework. Implementing an intervention that was designed following the principles of the endowed progress effect, recently certified CPH certificants were invited to participate in the intervention, which trained participants to report PHCE and then offered one PHCE credit for completing the training. After the intervention was implemented, the CPH certificants were asked to complete a theory of planned behavior questionnaire. The questionnaire participants were divided into two study groups and independent measures t-tests were conducted to determine if participants who had completed the intervention displayed greater intention to maintain certification and higher rates of PHCE reporting. Individuals displaying the highest intention were then interviewed and profiled to further contextualize the results of the questionnaire.
The study group that participated in the intervention demonstrated higher intention to maintain CPH certification and reported a statistically significant higher number of PHCE credits.
ContributorsBurke, Emily (Author) / Gee, Elisabeth (Thesis advisor) / Lee, Joel (Committee member) / Yañez-Fox, Lisa (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description
A group of educators and administrators in an international school in Thailand collaborated for a year to devise and publish a policy document with aim to reform assessment practices of its faculty. The group’s beliefs derived from standards-based assessment leaders and its broad aim was to build a more coherent, accurate, and meaningful assessment system. Using Actor Network Theory as its theoretical perspective, this mixed-methods action research study explored the extent that the policy document changed the beliefs and practices of the faculty, the assessment materials within the system itself, and what other factors may also help account for any changes. The first finding is that the policy did lead to observable changes in practices of faculty traced in tests, quizzes, and the gradebooks that record assessments. A second finding is that the impact of the policy as an agent for change depends on the frequency that it is referenced.
ContributorsMeisner, Nathan Robert (Author) / Gee, Elisabeth (Thesis advisor) / Marsh, Josephine (Committee member) / Heslip, Robin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description
Stress and anxiety are on the rise in children and adolescents, which may adversely impact their social and emotional development, learning, mental health, level of functioning, and educational success. Compounding this issue is that teachers often lack the preparation to best meet their students’ mental health needs. These associated factors constitute the problem of practice that prompted this action research study, whose purpose is to examine the effectiveness of Stress on Students (SOS)—a series of professional development modules designed to educate teachers on student stress and anxiety. SOS was developed with input from teachers through previous cycles of action research. The modules focus on identifying stress and anxiety among students and intervention strategies to increase teachers’ knowledge and perceived levels of self-efficacy. This study was grounded in the theoretical frameworks of andragogy and self-efficacy theory and employed a concurrent, mixed-methods design. Data were collected through a quantitative pre- and post-test survey instrument and qualitative semi-structured individual interviews. Analytic strategies included paired samples t-tests, descriptive statistics of the pre- and post-test, and multiple coding cycles of the individual interviews. Triangulation of the quantitative and qualitative data confirmed SOS’ effectiveness on teacher participants (n = 6) and provided complementary evidence. Teachers showed an increase in their actual and perceived knowledge about student stress and anxiety post-SOS with similar results pertaining to their perceived levels of self-efficacy in working with students who exhibit stress and anxiety. Additionally, teachers fully participated in SOS and deemed the topic and content to be relevant and valuable.
ContributorsJukins, Brian (Author) / Gee, Elisabeth (Thesis advisor) / Oakes, Wendy P (Committee member) / Rotheram-Fuller, Erin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description
The community college leadership pipeline is a source for concern in the face of anticipated retirements, yet most administrators come only from the ranks of classroom faculty, not from the full spectrum of all faculty. Librarians, whose experiences lend themselves to many administrative duties, seldom advance into administrative positions. This study was centered on the development of a career coaching intervention by which participants from a subset of California community college libraries received guidance from administrators who had previously been librarians. The aim was to see whether such an intervention could increase administrative skills, improve self-efficacy to perform in administrative roles, increase perceptions of the desirability of attaining such positions, and lead to greater intent to move onto such career pathways. The study found that a career coaching program had mixed success at addressing the study aims, but that it also opened space for librarians alone to explore other leadership and professional growth opportunities. The research argues for the restaging of such a career coaching program, centered on librarians only, so as to encourage their advancement, whether into administrative ranks at their community colleges or otherwise.
ContributorsHepburn, Peter (Author) / Gee, Elisabeth (Thesis advisor) / Buss, Ray (Committee member) / Aguiñaga, José (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description
This action research project centered on a group of instructional technology professionals who provide support to instructors at a public university in the United States. The practical goal of this project was to increase collaboration within the team, and to encourage alignment of the team’s efforts in relation to the university’s proposed redesign of its general education curriculum. Using the communities of practice perspective as a model for the team’s development, participants engaged in a sixteen-week activity in which they studied and discussed aspects of the proposed curriculum, and then used that knowledge to observe classes and compare the extent to which classroom pedagogy at the time aligned with the aims of the proposed curriculum. This qualitative action research study then explored how the team used these experiences to construct knowledge and the extent to which the group came to resemble a community of practice. Additionally, this study explored the changes that took place in the group’s capacity to interpret instructional environments. The first major finding was that the group’s identity changed from being one characterized by relationship management with their clientele to one that aligned with the institution’s instructional priorities and could be projected into the future to devise coordinated plans in support of those priorities. A second major finding was that the team developed a group-specific language and a rudimentary capacity to interpret instructional environments as a group.
ContributorsLang, Andrew (Author) / Gee, Elisabeth (Thesis advisor) / Koro-Ljungberg, Mirka (Committee member) / Hogan, Kelly (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019